


At The Bridge

by morninwarri0r



Category: Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi | Spirited Away
Genre: Chihiro x Haku, F/M, Fluff, Hayao Miyazaki, Memories, Romance, Spirited Away - Freeform, Studio Ghibli, kohaku river
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-09-15 21:56:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9259088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morninwarri0r/pseuds/morninwarri0r
Summary: [Two-shot] “Meet me at the bridge. I’ll be waiting.”





	1. Part 1

Chihiro felt like her face would cramp up any time now.

“Say cheese!” she heard for about the thousandth time that day, and her friend threw an arm around her shoulder, posing for the photo. Chihiro followed suit, plastering a bright grin on her face. The camera flash went off, blinding her for a split second.

She had a dozen blinking spots in her vision, and she blinked a few more times, hoping they would fade away soon. “Thank you!” Miko said as she hurried over to retrieve her camera from the kind stranger who had offered to help them take the photo. “Oh, this one looks good!” she grinned, animatedly waving for Chihiro to go over and take a look too.

Chihiro nodded in approval. “Could you send this to me later?”

“Sure thing!” Miko said, before scurrying off at the sound of her name being called by other friends. “See you later!” she called behind her back, and Chihiro waved at her, amused.

"Well, don’t you look happy for someone who graduated with first-class honours,” someone quipped teasingly behind her.

Chihiro spun around, and grinned when she saw her friend, Rin holding a phone out to take a selfie. He took one without waiting for her to get ready, and the photo naturally turned out to be a goofy one where her eyes were half-closed and her mouth still wide open.

“Hey, I wasn’t ready!” Chihiro complained, attempting to swipe his phone to take another one herself, but he was too tall and held the phone out of her reach. “This is definitely going on Instagram,” he said smugly, and she glared at him. “Now now, don’t look at me like that. It’s graduation day, shouldn’t you be going all about how you’ll miss me and stuff?”

“Rin, we live just five minutes away from each other,” Chihiro laughed, rolling her eyes. “But yes, I’ll miss you very much when you go. Now can we _please_ take a proper picture?”

He complied, and later they got someone else to take a photo for them too.

It was graduation day from college and everyone was busy taking photos with their friends and family. People all around her were either holding bouquets or balloons, and big groups of people were debating loudly about which poses to make for their photos. Chihiro was no exception - her friends and acquaintances were all congratulating her for graduating with first-class honors and as one of the top students in the university. She received various stalks of roses from her friends as well, since they knew it was her favorite, and Rin, her best friend, had actually gotten her a bouquet, much to her surprise.

"You actually got me a bouquet of roses?” she gasped, when he showed it to her. She hadn’t noticed before since he had kept it hidden behind his back while they were taking their photos.

“I kind of felt bad for you since you’ll probably never get a boyfriend who’ll get you roses— ouch!”

She had smacked him on the arm and he rubbed the now reddening spot, glaring at her. “Some gratitude.”

“You asked for it,” she huffed, but smiled again when her eyes rested on the beautiful bouquet that he had given her. She brought it up and inhaled, relishing in the refreshing scent of the flowers. “But thanks, Rin. This is the second bouquet I’ve ever received,” she smiled.

“As long as you like it,” he grinned, opening his arms in a gesture for her to hug him. She gladly accepted, squeezing him tightly. She was going to miss him so, so much. He would be going to Scotland soon for further studies, so she wouldn’t be able to see him for a long while after this.

“Thanks for everything, Rin. I'll miss you.”

“Yeah, because you just can’t live without me right?”

She was definitely _not_ going to miss this side of him though.

She sniffled and he pulled away, knocking her lightly on the head with his fist. “H-Hey, this isn’t the time to be a crybaby. Your dad is coming over here right now and he’ll beat me up if he thinks that I made you cry.”

“Technically you did,” she chortled, punching him lightly in the chest before turning around to meet her parents. Much to her surprise, her father was holding a bouquet of roses in his arms and her mother was trailing behind him. Both looked immensely proud of her, and she grinned, running over to meet them. “Hey Mom, hey Dad.”

“I’m so proud of my little girl,” Akio said, hugging her tightly and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“Hello, Mr. Ogino, Mrs. Ogino,” Rin greeted as he walked over.

“Congratulations to you too, Rin,” Yuko said, giving him a brief hug. “We were just talking to your parents. I think they’re looking for you.”

"Oh, then I’d better go. You know how my mom is... It was nice to see you,” he smiled, before jogging off and waving to other friends of his who yelled his name in invitation for a photo.

“He got you roses too?” Akio grimaced. “That boy is always one step ahead. Don’t tell me he’s going to be your boyfriend, Chihiro.”

"Now, now,” Yuko chided, taking her husband’s arm. “If they like each other I don’t see why not.”

“For the last time, Rin is just a friend,” Chihiro sighed, taking the roses from her father. “And it’s okay, Dad. This is my first bouquet from you, so it’s just as special.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Just as?”

“Fine, _way_ more special. Happy?”

“Very.” They laughed and he hugged her once more, before Yuko pulled her in for another hug.

Once the closing ceremony was over, Chihiro and her parents began the long drive back home. Chihiro sat in the back, absently playing with the bouquets and flowers that she had received, smiling to herself as she thought back to the first bouquet she had ever received, which was on the day she had to move to her current home town.

Too bad it had withered before she could even put them in a vase back in the new home at the time. She probably still had the card lying around somewhere though.

Chihiro eyed the bouquet that she had received from Rin, and found a little card in it that she hadn’t noticed before. She took it, reading the short message on it: _“To my best friend for six years and counting, thanks. You still owe me that meal, by the way. Your treat right? Love, your favorite.”_

She rolled her eyes. Typical Rin. She looked at the card again, wondering if he had written her name down somewhere. He didn’t. For some reason, it reminded her of the card that she had received with her first bouquet - her name had been written on the top left-hand corner of the card in light pink. Not seeing her name on the card that Rin gave her felt somehow mildly unsettling. Strange that she would feel some sort of need to see her name on a card like that — it wasn’t as if she would be forgetting her own name anytime soon.

She wondered how that elementary school friend of hers was doing now. Hopefully she was doing well and still remembered her. Maybe she should invite her out for a drink some time, just to catch up for a while.

Chihiro let a small sigh escape her and she looked out the window, observing the blur of skyscrapers and cement roads as her father drove. _Pity,_ she thought to herself, as she always did whenever she observed her urban world. She tended to wonder a lot about how the industrialized areas looked before they were developed. Probably much greener and fresher than what it was now. She never actually recalled becoming an environmentalist because of some kind of revelation she received when she was younger — it had just happened. At some point in her childhood she couldn’t stand seeing people litter or news of reservoirs or parks being reclaimed for urban redevelopment. She had even kicked up a huge fuss at home when she was about eleven or twelve about her parents not recycling enough or wasting resources.

“Just a head’s up for you, Chihiro,” Yuko spoke, breaking the silence in the car, “when we get home, be prepared to meet the neighbors.”

Chihiro snapped her attention back to her mother quizzically. “Why?”

"Because they want you to spread your ‘good fortune’ to their children so they can do just as well as you,” Yuko replied with an amused laugh. “I can’t believe they’re still going on about that whole ‘favored by the gods’ nonsense.”

Chihiro grimaced. Not that again...

There was a famous rumor back in her home town that she and her family were specially favored by the gods. It had started because by some stroke of bad luck, the family had arrived for their move three weeks late, for absolutely no reason at all. The family could have sworn they had just been delayed for a short while because of a detour that Akio had insisted on taking while getting to their new home, and they couldn’t recall anything in particularly that could have led to their disappearances for three whole weeks.

The neighbors hadn’t exactly helped to allay their worries or confusion when they started this whole ‘spirited away’ theory, claiming that they had been spirited away by the gods living in the hills, and that they were probably specially favored by the gods to have made it back into this world alive.

Chihiro and her family would have denied all of this, since they didn’t actually believe in these superstitious things, but there had been no reasonable or logical explanation for the absurd time gap in their move. The only way they could deal with it — or not to — was to simply forget about it and never mention the peculiar incident again. Akio and Yuko didn’t feel a particular need to know, it seemed.

Chihiro did, however. She had always found herself inexplicably drawn to that incident and a need to get to the bottom of the whole mystery. A part of her knew that the logical thing, or perhaps the best thing to do, was to simply forget about it like her parents had. But a bigger part of her was somehow certain that she would be able to remember if she were to dig deep enough into her memories.

Then again, she had tried to remember for the past fourteen years, and nothing had come out of it.

She was starting to believe there was nothing for her to remember in the first place.

 

* * *

 

 

That night, Chihiro lay in bed, exhausted from her interactions with her neighbors. They had been very pleasant, congratulating her and even treating her and her family to home-cooked dishes as a gift. Of course, that also meant having to listen to their theories of her family being spirited away years back once more, and simply going along with whatever they were saying in order to remain polite. Some of her neighbors, like Mrs. Yamada, had even requested for Chihiro to put her hand on the heads of her children as a form of ‘blessing’, in hopes that some of her good fortune would spread to the children as well.

With a long sigh, Chihiro pulled the covers over herself and tried to get some shut-eye. She was finally alone in the haven of her room, and relished in the peace and quiet around her. It had been a terribly long day, and all she wanted to do was sleep in till noon the next day.

Her heavy eyelids fell close and it wasn’t long before she drifted off to sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

  _Chihiro stirred, feeling a shiver go down her spine as she felt a gentle but chilling gust of wind brush against her face. Had she left the windows open before sleeping..? She was too tired to get up and check though._

_Pulling the covers tighter around her, she shifted into a fetal position to warm herself up. She was so tired..._

_She was about to go back to sleep when she thought she heard someone’s footsteps in the room._

_Maybe it was her mom who had come to close the windows for her. What time was it, anyway?_

_She waited for the sound of the windows closing and for the wind to stop blowing against her, but nothing, even after a while. Puzzled, she was about to turn around when she felt a hand gently rest on her covers, right where her shoulder was._

_"Meet me at the bridge,” a deep voice that most definitely did not belong to her father or her mother whispered. “I have something for you.”_

_Chihiro wanted to ask who it was, but her mouth remained shut and her body frozen in its place, from shock or fear she couldn’t tell. Then as quickly as it had appeared, the weight of his hand vanished and the wind died down._

 

* * *

 

 

Chihiro’s eyes shot open and she snapped up into sitting position on her bed. Her heart was racing in her chest and cold sweat lined her forehead and upper lip. What had that all been about? Was that a dream..?

She glanced over at the windows, and found that they were tightly shut. Yeah, definitely a dream. But, what a weird dream to have. Who was that guy anyway? She didn’t even recognize that voice from anywhere.

But at the same time, she did.

...Was she even making sense?

 _‘Just some late night thoughts with Chihiro at... three in the morning. Great.’_ She set her phone back down on the dresser and decided that she should just get back to sleep, since that had been nothing more than a mere dream. The only thing was, that dream had felt so... _real._

There was something about that voice that just resonated with her. Something told her that she should know that voice, and its owner. It was gentle, kind and didn’t make her suspect him to be a burglar or a bad person in her dream at all. Her intuition told her that he could be trusted. What was it, exactly? Who was that man? Why had she dreamt of him?

And why was she analyzing the voice of a fictional man who had randomly appeared in her dreams?

With an almost inaudible groan, she lay back down, flipped the covers over her and resolved to go back to sleep.

However, she couldn’t. As tired as she was, her mind was now actively thinking about the encounter she just had. She reached her hand up to touch her shoulder, where the man had touched. The gentle pressure of his hand against her shoulder through her blanket did not seem conjured up by her. She could still feel it there, and vividly remember how the wind in the room had seemed like it was whispering to her, beckoning to her.

He told her to meet her at the bridge... but what bridge? She didn’t recall any bridges in the town in particular. What was he talking about?

_Her ten-year-old self was leaning over the red railings of a bridge, straining to see the train that was passing by the tracks that were submerged in the crystal blue waters below. It looked as if it was gliding over the surface of the water. How amazing was that?_

_Just then, she heard footsteps on the wooden planks of the bridge and she turned to her right to see who it was. She was surprised to see another boy there, gaping at her and blinking as if to confirm if he was actually seeing her._

Chihiro frowned, opening her eyes. Was that the bridge that he was referring to? Was he that boy? She stared at the ceiling, as if it would offer her some answers.

What was that vision, anyway? She didn’t recall ever going to a place like that, or seeing a train that traveled on water.

_The brick wall. Through the tunnel._

The answer was somehow intuitive to her. Why there, of all places? That was where she and her parents had found themselves after the move, only to realize that three weeks had passed them by when they arrived at their new house.

_“Meet me at the bridge.”_

Should she go?

Nah, that would be ridiculous. Going out at three in the morning because of a dream? How absurd. Not to mention, her parents would kill her if they found her going out at this time of night to such a remote area where questionable figures could be lurking.

Any sane person would choose to go back to sleep.

 

* * *

 

 _‘I guess I’m not that sane after all,’_ Chihiro thought to herself as she started the engine in the car. Hopefully none of the neighbors were up at this time — if they knew about it, they would definitely mention something to her parents, and she had no reasonable excuse to cover up for this.

She just hoped that she wasn’t doing this for nothing.

Chihiro turned on the headlights and drove down the hill. It was a quick drive down to the intersection point and she went down the path that her father had taken many years back. All she had to do was drive straight in, if she remembered correctly. The little shrines lining the side of the road was all she needed to confirm that she was on the right path and she drove in quickly, trying not to dwell on the fact that the place gave her the creeps, especially that weird statue that sat in the bushes by the side of the road.

The road began to get bumpy and she slowed down a little, grimacing as the car shook and bounced and she was knocked from side to side. Any more of this and she would accidentally swerve off and fall off the damn hill. How her father managed to drive so quickly without getting into an accident years back was a mystery to her, even if he was one of the best drivers she knew.

As she drove deeper into the hill, a growing heaviness and longing began to tug at her heart, weighing on her chest. Her intuition was right; this place probably held some answers for her.

Chihiro slowed the car down to a stop when she got closer to the brick wall, and turned off the engine. The car became quiet and she stepped out of the car, dismayed to discover how tall the grass was. It went all the way up to her mid-calf, and the soil was damp. She would have to wash the dirt off later.

The place was quiet and it was dark. There were no lamps around, nor did it seem like anyone would be able to hear her in the event that she was attacked and she attempted to scream for help. She trudged forward and came to a stop in front of the tunnel. It was pitch black inside, like a gaping black hole. The wind was picking up again, and she felt it blow towards the direction of the tunnel.

It was calling her in.

She was about to take a step in, when she paused and took a step back instead. This was a bad idea. This was insane. What was she even doing here? She was practically asking to be killed by a serial murderer or attacked by some criminal. Fear took over her and she hurried back to the car, wanting to get back home as soon as she could, back to the safety of her room under the covers where she could sleep all of this away. She might need to consider going for a check-up too, just in case there was something wrong with her brain.

Chihiro began to make her way back to her car, frustrated with herself for pulling this sort of stunt in the middle of the night. So much for graduating with first-class honors — she could be pretty stupid when she wanted to be.

Just then, she heard footsteps and the crunching of grass.

She wasn’t alone anymore.

Fear spiked in her and she sprinted back, nearly slipping on the mud and tripping over rocks that she couldn’t see, but thankfully the car was close and if she was fast enough she would be able to make it in and drive away from whoever this stranger was.

Her vision had adjusted to the darkness by now and she found the car door fairly easily. But just as she was about to open the door, she felt a hand grab her by the wrist. Instinctively she opened her mouth to scream, but any sound she made was muffled by a big, strong hand that clamped itself over her mouth almost immediately.

No good. There was no time to think. Chihiro knocked her head back, slamming her head into her attacker’s nose. He groaned and his grip loosened on her considerably as he stumbled backwards from the shock. Able to free herself now, she drew her elbow back and jabbed it straight into his ribs with all the force she could muster, causing him to groan once more, louder this time. She heard a thud as he hit the ground, and with no time to lose, she hastily opened the door and got in, her shaky hands fumbling clumsily about for the key to start the engine.

She was about to close the door and drive the hell away from her attacker when she felt him pull it open, delaying her escape. Forget the door, she could close it later. She stepped on the pedal hard, hoping to speed her way out of there — even if that meant accidentally killing someone — only to find that it wouldn’t budge.

Chihiro thought her heart would burst out of her chest at the rate it was beating. It hammered against her ribcage as she stepped on the pedal over and over again, only to panic even more each time when the car refused to move. What was wrong? The engine was on, and it was working fine just a few minutes ago! What was going on?

“I’m not going to hurt you,” the man said, almost like a plea, as he groaned again and tried to catch his breath.

Yeah, right.

"Chihiro, stop. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Did he just... call her name?

Chihiro paused whatever she was doing, and for the first time, looked in the stranger’s direction to see who he was exactly. Her foot slowly lifted off the pedal as she found herself staring straight into a pair of dark green eyes that seemed to hold no animosity whatsoever towards her.

Chihiro remained silent, eyeing the man warily. He had dark hair that fell to his shoulders, and was dressed in a white tunic, so it was probably unlikely that he was some sort of thief, since no one in their right mind would attempt to rob someone wearing a shirt of that color.

Her breathing became slightly more even, although she was still panting from that ordeal and struggle earlier. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said apologetically.

His voice... That was the voice she had heard in her dreams. The voice that had told her to come here in the first place.

“You...” she spoke, barely above a whisper, “Who are you?”

“I’m a friend,” he said simply, opening the door wider and gesturing for her to step out.

Chihiro stared at the open door, wondering if she really should believe a guy who was out and about at this time of night, going around scaring women who passed by here.

Well, she had done lots of crazy things for one night. One more couldn’t hurt.

Carefully she stepped out, but kept the door in between them so that she could get back into the driver’s seat and speed off if the need arose.

“Chihiro,” he called once more, his smile fading a little when he saw the door in between them. “You don’t trust me?”

“Should I trust a guy who just grabbed me out of nowhere?” she shot back with a frown.

“I suppose that would be fair,” he replied.

Chihiro cocked her head to a side as she scrutinized his features further. She couldn’t make out all that much in the dark, but at least from her she could tell that he was quite handsome. He looked pretty decent, not at all like a suspicious person. Of course, she couldn’t just judge a book by its cover. For all she knew, he had weird fetishes like rubbing his feet in the dirt or something.

But she could recognize his voice for some reason. Something told her that she should know him — but she didn’t. It was strange that he knew her name, while she didn’t know his.

Maybe he was a stalker?

The thought was dismissed quickly. She wasn’t the kind of girl worth stalking.

“If I may ask, why did you come here at this time of night?” he spoke, breaking the silence.

“You called me here,” she blurted without thinking. “I-I mean, I just dreamt of someone calling me here, but I guess it was a stupid idea to come out here at this time.”

He nodded, not looking at her oddly as she thought he would for saying something as absurd as that. “It wasn’t that stupid.”

She cocked an eyebrow questioningly. “What?”

“I said that I have something for you, didn’t I?” He proceeded to remove a pretty red rose that had been tucked in his belt behind him. He held it out to her, and she stared at it dumbly, watching to see what kind of trick he had up his sleeve with this “gift”.

This night was getting stranger by the second.

“You like roses, don’t you?”

“Why are you giving this to me?” she demanded, returning his gaze to him folding her arms across her chest. “Who are you? What do you want?” He held her gaze, his eyes unwavering. He knew her. He really did seem to know her, but... why was it that she couldn’t remember him?

“I’ve... been waiting to meet you again for a long time, Chihiro,” was all he had to offer in reply as his hand fell to his side, still holding the rose in it.

“You’re not answering the question,” she said. “What is your name?”

“I want you to remember it on your own,” he answered. “Try to remember.”

“I can’t. I’ve never seen you before, or at least I don’t think I have. When did we meet? How long ago was that?”

"When you were ten and had just moved to this town. I believe you were supposed to be on your way to your new home.”

She drew in a sharp breath. “You mean... I was with you... those three weeks that passed without me or my parents knowing how or why?”

His expression was hard as he nodded. “Yes. Your parents will not be able to remember, but you can.” Then he began to step away from her, walking in the direction of the tunnel.

“Wait, where are you going?” She ran after him. She needed to know who this person was and what he meant to her. Why was her heart aching so, when he turned around to leave?

Chihiro had so many questions swirling in her mind at the moment, but right then she was certain of one thing: she didn’t want him to go.

“Meet me at the bridge when you remember. I’ll be waiting.”

“And what if I can’t?” she asked, “Will I see you again?”

He paused right before entering and glanced over his shoulder with what seemed a smile. “Once you’ve met someone, you never really forget them. I’ll see you soon, Chihiro.”

With that, he vanished into the dark tunnel, leaving only the lone, red rose in his wake.

 


	2. Part 2

Chihiro heaved a sigh for what seemed like the thousandth time. Her hair was slapping her in the face, no thanks to the strong, salty summer breeze. The sky was covered with thick, white clouds, obscuring the sun from view, and even then she was still perspiring in the strong summer heat. Frustrated, she picked up her favorite purple hair tie and with her fingers, combed her wildly flying brown strands into a high, messy ponytail.

Her eyes remained on the waves rippling over the shore, where she was seated a short distance away from. As they rose and crashed against the soft, wet sand, she noted how the waves would bubble as they receded, as if frustrated with the repetitive actions they were performing.

Chihiro felt the same. For the past week, she had been racking her brains, searching for any hint of a memory of that strange man she met that night. She would often find herself catching onto something, a faint, fragmented detail, like an outline of living black soot balls, the long brown hair of a woman in a salmon pink uniform, or the mess of colors of futons laid side by side in a cramped room. However, just as she thought she would be able to remember something, her memories would end there, as if having crashed into some kind of invisible wall and receding with nothing but little fragments of blurred images that she couldn’t tell if they were simply conjured up by her imaginative mind, or actual memories.

A small part of her remained doubtful. Was that man telling the truth in the first place? If he was, there was no way she couldn’t remember the slightest thing about him. Chihiro could be absent-minded and forgetful, but her memory couldn’t be _this_ bad.

However, a bigger part of her — the more insane part of her, it seemed — believed him. There was just something about him that made her want to trust him. He had introduced himself as her friend, had called her by her name, and even knew what her favorite flower was. Of course, the stalker theory still held some water, but he had kept a respectable distance from her that night, and hadn’t seemed at all like a dangerous man. If anything, he had been gentle, careful not to overstep his boundaries or to push her too much in remembering him. And that had only made her even more curious as to who he was, and who he was to her. How had they met? When had they met? The questions had been in the back of her mind, gnawing at her every waking moment throughout the past week, but no answer came to mind.

There was the option of entering that tunnel, where he had disappeared into that night. She had considered it on a number of occasions, only to swiftly reject it each time. There was no telling what laid in store at the end of that creepy looking dark tunnel. For all she knew, it was some kind of den where drug overlords gathered or a place where dead bodies were buried. Maybe it would be safe and maybe she was over-thinking, but she did not want to go in to find out for herself. She may be crazy, but she wasn’t _that_ crazy.

Still, she wanted to brush it all off as a dream, just so she wouldn’t have to keep mulling over the same issue and getting frustrated each time the ghosts of her memories failed to materialize in her head. But there was no denying that he had been real. That scuffle had been real, she remembered the strength of his grip on her wrist and the feel of his strong, solid body pressed against her back while she had been struggling to break free.

Chihiro gave a little huff, blowing her fringe upwards as she did so. Why couldn’t he just tell her his name? That would have saved her a lot of trouble, and him the time spent waiting for her, if he was even still waiting for her at that bridge. It was unlikely, since a full week had already passed and if he was still waiting there since that night, that would be downright creepy.

_Yep, the stalker theory still holds water. Even if he was nice._

“So what’s keeping you so preoccupied that you’re too lazy to play a game of beach volleyball with the rest of us?”

The voice snapped Chihiro out of her thoughts, and she glanced up to see a perspiring, panting, half-naked Rin standing over her, looking at her with a somewhat bemused smile. He proceeded to take a seat next to her, kicking up some sand with his feet as he did so.

“You stink,” she muttered, pinching her nose between her fingers as she leaned away from him. Beads of sweat trickled down his neck, and he grinned as he deliberately shook his head, causing droplets of his sweat to be hurled in her direction.

Chihiro got up, screaming, “Eww! Get away from me!” But Rin pulled her by the ankle, refusing to let her run away. “You are _so_ rude.”

“You are _so_ disgusting," she shot back. She kicked some sand at him, careful not to kick it too high so it wouldn't get into his eyes. He yelped, ducking away, but still ended up with a load of sand spray over his body. He glowered at her, clearly unappreciative of the gesture, to which she returned by childishly sticking her tongue out at him.

"You're gonna regret doing that,” he said, before getting up with an evil, maniacal grin on his face.

Immediately Chihiro turned on her heel, sprinting forward while screaming for help as he chased her across the beach, although their friends were too caught up in their game of volleyball to notice the two of them.

 

* * *

 

“I hate you. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!”

“Love you too, Chihiro.” Rin blew her a kiss and batted his eyelashes, making her shudder and prompting her to splash more water at him. When he sputtered as some got into his mouth, her lips curled up triumphantly, only to fade when it quickly escalated into a splash tournament between the two of them.

Chihiro had been no match for him when it came to running. Rin was far more built and athletic than her, after all. Running on sand was much more tiring too, and he had caught up to her in no time, hauling her up by the waist and throwing her over his shoulder, before proceeding to hurl her straight into the ocean.

“You’re the worst, Rin!” Chihiro gasped, wiping the excess seawater off of her face. Of course, she lost this match too. No surprise there.

Rin merely laughed, wading over to her. “Well, at least now you finally look like you’re having some fun.”

“What do you mean?”

"You were pretty moody the whole ride here. And you kept spacing out while we were talking and having fun, not even interested in playing beach volleyball even though that’s like, the only game you play on the beach, even if you suck at it.”

The cheeky line he added prompted him to punch him on the arm. Chihiro wanted to refute him, but Rin was right. She hadn’t been particularly sociable today, or for that matter, for the past week. She had been so caught up in her thoughts, after all, far too preoccupied with that man to think about anything else. She felt bad, especially since she knew she should be cherishing the time she had left with Rin. He was flying off to Scotland in three days, and this outing was meant to be a farewell party of sorts for him. “Sorry,” she muttered.

“Is it something you wanna talk about?” he asked. She looked upwards to meet his concerned gaze.

“Well... I don’t know...” _So um, a week ago I had a dream of this guy who called me out to some place up the hill and then I actually met that guy who then said he knows me but I don’t remember him even though I’m supposed to remember him and I’m trying but I still don’t have any idea who he is and I’m kind of going crazy because I don’t know if this is just some kind of sick, cruel joke that a random guy is playing on me or if he’s serious and if I’m a terrible friend who doesn’t remember him._

“It’s nothing,” she settled for at last. Even if it was Rin, this wasn’t something she could tell anyone. For one thing, she knew Rin would give her an earful for going out alone that late at night and for potentially getting assaulted by some guy who happened to be there just because she dreamed of it.

“You sure? Doesn’t sound like nothing to me,” he said with a little frown.

“Yeah... it’s nothing much anyway. I’ll probably get over it soon.”

"Okay then.” Chihiro was glad he didn’t try to push the matter, although he did add, “If it’s a guy problem, I’ll beat him up for you.”

Chihiro laughed drily. “Oh, I know you would.” If only he knew how bad this guy problem really was. He would probably charge right into that tunnel and beat the living lights out of that poor man. Rin had done that before when they were in middle school and a guy who liked her wouldn’t stop teasing her. It got to the point where she even cried. He nearly got suspended for that, though he said if he were to do it again, he would do it in a heartbeat for her.

Rin had to be the best friend anyone could wish for.

“Hey, Rin! Chihiro!” Both of them turned around to see Miko and Ayumi on the shore, calling out to them. “Wanna play? Saya and Takashi say they want to take a break.”

Rin turned to her. “Up for a game of beach volleyball now?”

She thought about it for a moment, before shaking her head. “Nah, I’m just gonna stay out here for a short while more.”

“You sure?” he asked, frowning. “You’re really not up for even a short round?”

“I’ll join you guys later. I just... want to stay here for a while more.”

"You aren’t scared that you’ll lose to me, are you?”

Reaching up, she lightly smacked her fist against his cheek to wipe that smug grin of his off. “Of course not. I’ll go over later and kick your butt.”

Rin seemed to relent and began making his way back to shore. “Okay, fine. If you wanna join we’ll just be over there.”

“I will.” Chihiro waved goodbye to her friends as they set off back to the volleyball court that was just nearby.

Left alone to her thoughts again, Chihiro felt her spirits dip. She really hoped that she would be able to figure out this whole thing as soon as possible for a peace of mind.

Deciding to go for a quick swim, she tied the bottom part of her shirt into a tight knot to keep it from flaring out in the water. Then she dove in and began swimming forward with strong kicks in a breaststroke.

There was just something about swimming that could help her relax. The feeling of large waves enveloping her lithe body made her feel like she was in a whole new world. In the few seconds she had her head underwater, with the real world above muffled, it felt as if she was the only person who existed in that space. That space belonged to her and her alone, and that thought was sufficient to quell her fears and calm her down as it always seemed to magically diminish the weight of her worries on her.

Chihiro was careful not to swim too far out, and stopped after traveling a fair distance away from shore where the currents were not too strong. While treading the water to stay afloat, she sighed as her eyes drank in the tranquility of the sea in the far distance. She could see numerous boats in the distance sitting on the horizon, and outlines of seagulls circling them almost playfully.

Chihiro did love the sea. It was amazing how she could feel so safe out here.

Those were her exact sentiments, at least, until she felt a growing pain in her left calf.

Alarmed, she reached her arms down to pull her leg up, pressing against it. Her calf muscles were cramping up, and the pain was escalating all too quickly for her to bear.

Chihiro cursed, immediately throwing her body in the direction of the shore, hoping desperately to make it back safe.

However, the pain in her left leg made it impossible to move past a couple of meters. Reflexively, she stopped to grab onto her calf, hoping desperately to relieve the cramp by pressing against the muscles, but that failed to work, and soon she found herself flailing wildly in the water and screaming for help. She didn’t know if anyone could hear her, or if anyone would be able to come to her rescue, because she couldn’t keep her head up above the water much longer.

Her lungs were screaming for air, and her frenzied heart failed to help slow her breathing. As she opened her mouth to shout for help, she ended up taking a few gulps of seawater in her mouth, the excessive saltiness making her gag and sputter. All the while her left leg throbbed painfully, as if someone was twisting the muscles in her calf with a knife.

“Help... Someone help me...” she managed out with a hoarse throat, having no energy left to shout for help or keep herself afloat with her right leg. Falling back underwater, she felt her chest constrict painfully. She needed air. Her body, however, could no longer move. She felt nauseous, dizzy, ready to pass out. She could feel herself begin to slip away already.

Her eyes closed as her arms made a few more futile strokes in an attempt to push her head above the surface. Her body then stilled, limply floating in the water, having no strength to try anymore. Her leg continued to twitch in pain, but Chihiro was longer focusing on that, but on the morbid thoughts swimming in her mind.

She was going to die. Unless someone came to her rescue soon, she was going to drown here.

And the most absurd thing was that something in the back of her mind was nagging at her to remember a similar experience.

She knew this sensation. The waters closing in around her, its suffocating grip on her body, the lurching of her stomach as she swallowed more water against her will, the paralyzing fear as she hoped desperately for someone, _anyone,_ to save her.

She didn’t want to die.

_Just as she was about to lose all hope, she felt something brush against her legs, and through her narrowed eyes and blurred vision, she saw something white and scaly moving around her. From her limited line of sight she noticed it was shimmering as it crossed strips of light in the water. Then she felt something hard against her hands. She opened her eyes a little wider, and found something staring at her. It looked like a dog, except it had a long, white body like a snake’s, two long whiskers and... horns?_

_She had never seen this animal before in the aquarium or zoo, nor had she heard of something like this living in the river. She had come here to see the fishes, but she hadn’t been expecting something this huge._

_It had positioned its body under her, and seemed to be urging her to grab onto its horns with its green eyes. Whether or not that was what he was asking of her, she instinctively reached out to grab onto its sturdy horns. She had no idea what this thing was, but it didn’t seem to mean her any harm. Even if it did, her fear of drowning outweighed any consideration of the possible consequences of going along with this sea creature. It then turned around with what sounded like a grunt, and then it began swimming through the waters at a remarkable speed, causing her to grip tightly in fear of being left behind._

_She was saved._

Chihiro jerked herself back to her senses.

What was that? A memory?

She had no time to ponder over this, however, for at that moment, her world faded to black.

 

* * *

 

“...Chihiro. Chihiro!”

Chihiro’s eyes flew open as she coughed and sputtered, spitting out the water stuck in her throat. She was helped into sitting position, as she continued to cough as she choked.

“Chihiro, oh thank god you’re okay,” Rin exhaled. “How are you feeling now?”

"Fine...” she managed out, making a face at the overwhelmingly bitter taste of salt in her mouth. Ayumi pushed a bottle of water into her hand and she eagerly downed it, thankful to be able to get rid of the rancid taste. “I’m alive,” she said, after wiping her mouth. Chihiro looked up to see her friends circled around her, casting her worried looks and bombarding her with questions about how she was feeling. Saya ran over with a towel and draped it around her shoulders, while Takashi had a first aid kit with him, ready to check for injuries. She had none, fortunately, aside from the lingering pain from the leg cramp that was otherwise gone.

“You idiot! How could you swim so far out? What were you thinking?” Rin was the only one scolding her, and Miko tried to placate him by placing a hand on his shoulder, which he ignored. “What if I hadn’t gotten there in time? You could have died, Chihiro! You scared the hell out of me— you scared all of us!”

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, lowering her gaze. It was her fault. She didn’t think it was that far out, but it was not close enough to shore to be able to call for help comfortably if she needed it, like just now.

“Rin, come on, she’s fine. There’s no point in getting angry,” Takashi cut in. “We should head back early. Chihiro, I don’t see any injuries on you but maybe we should bring you to the hospital for a check up just in case. You look like you swallowed a lot of seawater.”

“But I feel fine,” Chihiro protested, attempting to get up. Her left leg still hurt, but she could stand — somewhat. She got up with Rin there to steady her with an arm around her shoulder. “There’s no need to go to the hospital.” She wouldn’t want her parents to learn of this and worry even more than they should.

“Takashi’s right. It’s better to be safe than sorry,” Miko added.

“I don’t want my parents to worry, and look, I’m perfectly fine. I just need to rest for a bit.”

She started to walk back, hoping that would be enough proof to her friends that she didn’t need to go for a checkup. She would hate having to explain this mess to her parents, after all. “Chihiro.” Rin’s grip on her shoulder tightened, which made her stop in her tracks. He was visibly upset. The creases on his forehead and flared nostrils were a clear indication of that. “You’re going to the hospital, okay? You don’t have much a choice in this.”

“But—”

“Chihiro, I know Rin can be uptight, but this time, we agree. It’s best if you go for a checkup at the hospital,” Ayumi cut in, ignoring Rin’s protests of how he was “not uptight and perfectly reasonable all the time”, while the rest nodded in agreement with her.

Seeing how worried her friends were for her, Chihiro released a sigh, deflating as she conceded defeat. “Fine, I’ll listen...”

Rin wasted no time in carrying her up on his back, insisting that she was in no condition to walk all the way back to the car.

 

* * *

 

 

In the end, much to her dismay, Chihiro found herself in the general ward, to be kept under observation overnight. Of course, this also meant having to alert her parents about the situation, which brought an onslaught of interrogatory questions as to what on earth she had been doing out in the sea over the phone. Her friends had been kind enough to stay with her until evening, and then they had to get back home for dinner. Rin had been the most unwilling to leave, but Chihiro insisted that he go back home for dinner since he did not have much time left with his family before flying off to Scotland.

Her parents managed to rush down after work in the evening, soon after her friends left, and they were relieved to see that she appeared to be otherwise fine. If they were mad at her for being so careless before, they tried not to show it since they probably realized there was little point in scolding her over something she was likely never to attempt again.

Seeing her parents prompted Chihiro to ask them a question that had been weighing on her mind for a while, however.

"Mom, Dad,” she began, “Just out of curiosity, has something like this happened before?”

“What do you mean, dear?” Yuko asked, pausing a bit from peeling the apple she had brought for Chihiro.

“I mean, like, have I... you know, ever nearly drowned before?”

She watched as her parents exchange uncertain glances, before turning back to face her.

“Yes... I think that was when you were three... no, four years old?” Akio said.

“It’s from the time we went to the Kohaku River, remember? To celebrate my birthday?” Yuko asked, sending her husband a pointed look for not remembering the incident as clearly as he should have.

“Right, right, of course. I knew that. We were out for a picnic, but then you,” he gestured to his daughter, “wandered off and fell into the river. You nearly drowned.”

Yuko placed her hand over her chest, her lips pursed into a thin line as she recalled the terrifying event. “We thought we lost you that time... Thank goodness, by some miracle you made it back to shore safe and sound, although that part was rather strange. There was no way you could have swam all the way to the other side like that.”

“She got lucky,” Akio said, cracking a smile. “Maybe we _are_ favoured by the gods.”

He laughed at his daughter’s response, as she groaned and pouted. “Stop that.”

“Okay, okay, sweetheart.”

They spent a little bit more time together, with Chihiro sharing the rest of what had happened that day with her parents, until it started to get late and visiting hours were almost over.

“You two should head back home and get some rest. I’ll be fine here,” Chihiro offered a smile. Though reluctant, visiting hours were almost over and her parents had no choice but to leave. They bid her goodnight and then went on their way, promising to pick her up the next day after she was released from the hospital.

That night, Chihiro lay awake in her unfamiliar bed, surrounded by the smell of antiseptic and sounds of other patients sleeping in their beds. There was the foreign feel of the creaky mattress beneath her weight, the alien smells penetrating her nostrils and the occasional snores coming from that one man from the other end of the room that kept her from falling asleep as easily as she would have liked. The main thing that was keeping her up though, was herself.

Fragments of memories and the brief scene that she saw underwater before she lost consciousness drove an insane urge for her to remember whatever it was that she had forgotten. That thing that had carried her back to shore was no fictional creature from a novel — it had been very, very real. There was no other plausible explanation for the way she managed to survive that episode when she was four years old. She most definitely could not swim at that age, nor would she have been strong enough to fight the currents in the river.

And for some reason, the only thing she could associate it with was that man she met a week ago.

Getting back these memories weren’t by chance. After meeting him, it was like her brain had been plunged into the depths of her memory, searching for pieces and fragments of the past that she did not remember experiencing. Yet at the same time, she knew they were important.

To what end was this going to keep up? All she had now was little pieces of the puzzle that could not be joined together. The pieces in between left huge, unbridgeable gaps that left her feeling empty, longing for more.

This was going to be another sleepless night with questions swarming in her mind, but for now, she had a gut feeling that finding out that man’s name would be the answer to everything. It was just a matter of time.

 

* * *

 

"Stop crying, you little crybaby. This isn’t my funeral, I’m just leaving for a while.”

“It’s a few years! And why do you always manage to insult me when we’re having a moment?” Chihiro complained, which made Rin chuckle as he pulled her into a hug. She squeezed him tightly, muffling her sobs against his shoulder. Rin patted her head gently, muttering, “I’ll come back and visit, don’t worry. I’ll miss you a lot too, Chihiro. Take care, okay? Don’t go falling into the sea again, because I won’t be there to save you next time.”

She huffed, pulling away to slap him on the arm. “Are you Elsa? Because you need to let it go already. It’s been three days!”

“Best joke you’ve made so far, and it’s still not funny,” Rin shot back as he rolled his eyes. “Seriously though, take care of yourself. If you need anything, call me. Skype, Oovoo, Facetime, whatever. Don’t forget about me, okay?”

“How could I?” Chihiro smiled. “I’ll be blowing up your phone so don’t you regret this offer.”

“Oh no, what have I gotten myself into?” Rin’s face contorted with mock horror, prompting her to laugh like she always did when they were together. He reached his hand out to wipe her stray tears away, which only earned him a couple of low whistles and teasing comments from their friends who were watching them at a distance.

Chihiro rolled her eyes while Rin wildly gestured for them to shut up. Their friends seemed to entertain the idea of them dating much more than they did. Seriously, they were just best friends.

“Rin, you have a flight to catch,” his mother called, sending him a knowing smile, which Chihiro did not quite understand. It seemed to have an effect on him however, because his face started to turn a light shade of pink, as he shifted his weight from one leg to the other quite uncomfortably. He seemed to be deliberating something, and for a moment Chihiro wondered if he had forgotten to bring something important.

After a while, he finally spoke up. “Hey, um, Chihiro, there’s... there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

She raised her eyebrow suspiciously. “You didn’t play a prank on me again, did you?” The last time he had used this tone on her, it had been to apologize for making her panic for two whole days over her “lost” purple hair tie. In truth, Rin had found it because she dropped it and decided it would be fun to see her reaction when she realized it wasn’t with her. Apparently he had meant it as a harmless prank but seeing her so upset had made him quite apprehensive of confessing his actions to her and returning it.

“H-Huh? A prank? Of course not!” That seemed to sober him up quite quickly as he got into defensive mode. “What made you think that, anyway?”

"My purple hair tie? Remember?”

“Huh? Oh, right. Dude, that was like, two years ago! You still remember?”

“Of course I do. It’s a grudge I’ll never let go of.”

“Women are pretty scary creatures.”

“Hey, watch it,” she retorted, fighting a smile. “So, what did you want to tell me?”

“Oh, right. That. Um...” He was being more wishy-washy than usual. What was he afraid of telling her? He was usually direct and straightforward when it came to telling her about stuff. This time seemed a little different, however. Chihiro remained patient as she looked attentively at him, waiting for him to find the words.

“Well... I’ve wanted to tell you for a few years now, but I couldn’t really find the opportunity to.”

“Mhmm?”

“I wanted to tell you before I go so you know, we have some time and space to think about it?”

“Um... okay?”

“So we’ve known each other for the past six years, and you’re the closest girl friend I’ve had in my whole life.”

“I know,” she replied rather smugly.

He narrowed his eyes at her, but let it pass, continuing whatever it was that he wanted to say. “And I never got the courage to tell you, but...” His face started turning pinker, if that was possible.

Chihiro began to feel slight dread build up in her chest. Was this... Was this what she thought it would be? From the corner of her eyes, she could see her friends smiling to themselves and sneaking little peeks at them, as they always did, though for some reason today they were all giving the two of them some space. Chihiro thought it was because they thought she and Rin would need extra time to say their farewells, but what if...

“I just wanted to say that... I lo—” He cut himself off abruptly, his eyes filled with conflict. Chihiro’s breath caught, her heart starting to pick up the pace. _Please don’t let it be that, anything but that..._ She thought he would say more, but then suddenly he cracked that usual joking smile of his and continued, “I loooove the prospect of being able to spend the next few years you around to bug me. Hasta la vista, loser.”

Chihiro felt relief flood her, and she sighed, breaking into a huge grin and smacking him upside the head for that mocking remark, although she had a feeling it was just his way of backing out of whatever he really wanted to tell her. She had no intention of asking further, and so settled for brushing it off as a joke, just like he seemed to hope she would take it as. They exchanged a few more jests and one final, minute-long hug before Rin had to leave.

Watching his back as he left brought fresh tears to her eyes, and Chihiro wiped them hastily with the back of her hand. She would be sure to hound him for updates once he got over there and settled down.

Ayumi, Miko and Saya flocked over to her to comfort her, but also to ask her about how her talk with Rin went. “He didn’t say anything,” Chihiro shrugged, in response to their questions, much to their poorly masked dismay. Miko and Saya sighed, while Ayumi shook her head in disappointment.

All Chihiro could do was to pretend that she did not understand anything about the situation, and made quick work of bidding goodbye to her friends and leaving. She needed some time to think alone.

Her friends tended to mark her as the “dense” sort, but really, she wasn’t. She just pretended to be. That way, it was easier. She was Rin’s closest friend; of course she could sense his feelings even without him having to tell her. This was one thing she was glad he had chosen not to tell her though, even if it might have been out of cowardice. Selfish as it was of her to think this way, she had enough weighing on her mind, and having one more boy problem was not going to help at all.

Chihiro just hoped she hadn’t hurt Rin’s feelings. Rin was the sweetest and most dependable friend she could ever have. Her friends tended to tease her about dating him, but she could never truly entertain that thought. The idea of dating him just seemed completely impossible, somehow. That was how she felt towards every other guy, anyway. She was the only person in her circle of friends who had never actually dated.

The woman tried to think back to the last time she actually had a crush on someone.

That had never happened, if her memory did not fail her.

Chihiro sighed as she got into the car, beginning the drive back home. She had always thought it strange that she could never love anyone else. It was as if someone had stolen her heart a long time ago, making it so that she could never fall for anyone else. It was an absurd idea that amused her, but one that she did not take seriously. What was she, a character in a sappy romance novel?

Her thoughts drifted to the man at the tunnel, recalling the emptiness in her heart when he had left her behind. Her emotions while saying her goodbyes to Rin earlier could not compare to that feeling in the slightest.

Chihiro wanted to know why. That man was special to her, she knew it, but at the same time, she didn’t.

Why couldn’t she remember?

_"Once you've met someone, you never really forget them.”_

Chihiro was out of options... except for just one place that she had left unexplored.

It was now or never.

 

* * *

 

The car came to a stop at the same place it had when she first came to this place. Cautiously, she stepped out of the car to examine her surroundings. There didn’t seem to be anyone around here, nor was there a sign that the man she met before was anywhere nearby. All was quiet, aside from the rustling of leaves in the wind and the occasional chirping of birds in the distance.

Her eyes came to rest on the tunnel that lay ahead. The brick wall was covered in a blanket of moss, and the smell that she discovered coming from it as she stepped closer was none too appealing. It was stale, an indication that there had been no visitors here in ages. She supposed it wasn’t strange, since word of what had happened to her family had spread throughout the town by now, keeping people from coming here for fear of what would happen to them.

Chihiro’s eyes widened when she found the rose that he had offered her that night as a gift lying, discarded, in a bed of grass. Bending down, she picked it up, feeling slightly bad for having left it here that night. But in her defense, she had been far too freaked out by the encounter to even remember to pick it up as she made a hasty exit.

She held it in her hand, careful not to prick her fingers on the thorns. The rose’s previously vibrant red color had now dulled, a light brown dusting its petals in its wilted state. Vaguely, she wondered if she would see that man again. Her heart began to beat faster as she grew nervous staring into the dark mouth of the tunnel. There was no telling what would happen to her the moment she stepped in, yet this was her only choice left, if she wanted to get to the bottom of all of this.

Something told her it would be alright to go in, though. Perhaps it was the wind calling her in, as it blew in the direction of the tunnel, making her hair swirl and dance in the air. She tucked the rose in her belt securely, before reaching into her pocket to pull out her purple hair tie. It was her lucky charm, and hopefully things would go fine as long as she wore it.

“Here goes nothing,” she breathed, and then she took her first step in.

Activating the torchlight on her phone, Chihiro used it to light up the path in the tunnel, although it did little to help since it could only brighten the path a couple of meters ahead. She vaguely remembered coming through this tunnel with her parents when they insisted that some exploration of their new home town would be harmless. Some fun that turned out to be.

She recalled being afraid at the time, stubbornly clinging tightly to her mother’s clothes in fear of being separated from her parents and being left alone in this awfully pitch black place alone. However she did not feel as scared coming in here again. Maybe it was because of the light from her phone, or maybe it had to do with some kind of intuition that told her nothing would come out to harm her — not at this time of day anyway.

As Chihiro neared the end of the tunnel, she noticed that it led to some kind of open space with benches. It smelled of dust, and she fought back a sneeze or two, pinching her nose. The place seemed like an abandoned train station — the thought occurred to her after hearing the distant rumble of a train along tracks.

What lay ahead, past the train station, was what caught Chihiro’s attention more. She increased her walking pace, exiting and coming face to face with a large expanse of open green space. The glorious sight pulled an awed gasp from her lips, as her eyes took in the wide, breathtaking meadow, raw and undisturbed by modern urban development. The soft grass blades danced beneath the gentle force of the wind, bringing the smell of sweet, heavenly spring to her nostrils.

What kind of place was this? She never knew that such a magnificent place existed in her town — or perhaps more accurately, she didn’t remember.

How could she not remember a view as exquisite as this, though? She found it quite impossible for that to be so.

It felt so natural to slip out of her shoes and to run out, feeling the caress of the wind on her face and the marvelous silkiness of the grass cushioning her feet. She felt like a child again, and it was a wondrous feeling. For just a fleeting moment, she forgot about the worries and frustration that had been burdening her the past week.

After a while she got tired and simply launched herself onto the grass, rolling over so she was lying on her back. It didn’t matter that her clothes and hair were probably dirty — being back here felt great.

_Back here, huh?_ Strange how that had come out so naturally.

Chihiro closed her eyes, deciding it would be nice to bask out here for a while. She could even fall asleep here, if she so wanted, although that would be dangerous, considering she _was_ in foreign territory, after all.

She lay there for a couple more minutes before dragging herself up, dusting dirt off her shirt and pants, as well as combing her hair with her fingers to get any stray grass blades off. Then she continued walking, until she noticed the edge of the meadow where grass met pavement. There was a frog statue on the right, and for a brief moment an image of water gushing out from its open mouth at night flashed in her mind.

She felt a tug on her heart, and her legs began moving towards that boundary. Her eyes were fixed on it, her mind already beginning its search for a memory she knew was tied to this place.

_A boy. He was the same boy from the bridge. He had shoulder-length, dark green hair, and straight bangs covering his forehead._

_He had her hand grasped in his, and they were looking out at the meadow._

_She had to go. She couldn’t stay._

_"Will we meet again sometime?” she asked._

_"Sure we will.” His voice was confident, kind, gentle, as she believed he always had been, from the beginning to the end._

_“Promise?”_

_"Promise. Now go, and don’t look back.”_

That boy... Her heart was stirring with an indescribable pain and longing.

She knew him. They had met before, a long time ago.

Without thinking, Chihiro broke into a sprint, dashing straight ahead.

She had to find him.

_Go straight. Then turn right here. Keep going. There’s a flight of stairs there._

The quaint, empty shops passed by her in a blur as she ran down the street that she shouldn’t know but could somehow navigate easily. She never stopped, not caring that her feet were still bare and that each harsh slap of her feet against the hard ground hurt.

_“Meet me at the bridge.”_

His words echoed in her head, prompting her to go even faster. She leapt up the flight of stairs, coming face to face with an enormous “Abura” sign, and there it was.

The quiet bridge was right there, its red railings and smooth wooden planks suddenly all too familiar to her. Nostalgia and relief welled up in her, and she dashed onto it, looking over the red railings to see the clear, crystal blue waters below, and the train tracks that were underwater, while trying to catch her breath.

She definitely knew this place.

Chihiro turned to her right, noting the bathhouse that towered over her. She had been here before. _Worked_ here, to be more precise. More memories seemed to be coming back to her. She remembered the thick, hot air in the bathhouse that made it hard to breathe, the uncomfortably coarse material of the salmon pink uniform, strange creatures from all walks of life gathering in this place.

There were more people she seemed to know. Twin witches, an older sister, a grandfather, a huge baby, and...

_A dragon._

That was what had saved her before. It hadn’t been a sea monster; it had been a dragon that helped her back to shore back then.

And that boy... Something told her that he was connected to that dragon, or that they were one and the same.

Just then, she heard footsteps on the bridge, and she jumped, snapping her head in the direction of the sound. There, she found that same man from before standing a fair distance away from her. His face was unreadable, his eyes were trained on her. She swallowed thickly, her heart rate climbing uncomfortably fast when she met his gaze.

_That’s him. That’s the boy._

Chihiro’s legs began moving of their own accord as the words that she wanted to say caught in her throat. She closed the distance between them, stopping just two steps away from him. He remained silent the whole time, though as she neared she noticed that there was a tenderness in his gaze as he looked at her, and a sort of longing that she also felt growing within herself as the seconds ticked by.

“You don’t remember yet.” He spoke first, with a tinge of disappointment in his clear voice that flowed elegantly. Up close like this in the light, she had a clearer view of his features. His straight, dark green hair fell neatly above his shoulders, bangs covering his forehead. He had piercing, dark green eyes that seemed to penetrate her very being, yet at the same time gently invited her in closer. He was very handsome, appearing to be about the same age that she was. He was almost a head taller than her too.

“Not everything,” she replied, hoping he hadn’t noticed her unabashedly checking him out. “I want answers.”

“What do you wish to know?”

“I know you. We’ve met before, haven’t we?” she asked. The corners of his lips twitched upwards into a small smile, which prompted her to continue. “I was at the meadow earlier, and I remember a young boy who was with me. That was you, wasn’t it? Promising that we would meet again?”

“Yes, I did make that promise to you.”

“Who are you? Why was I here with you? Why don’t I remember anything about this place? I mean, I kind of remember. It’s weird. Like my memories were—”

“Sealed,” he finished for her. “They were sealed when you left this place.”

Chihiro furrowed her brows. “Sealed? By who? Why?”

“It is the way things are, Chihiro. I do not know myself. But if you’re back here a second time, it means you won’t be forgetting again. All you need to do now is remember.”

“I know, but I can’t. I’ve tried, okay?” Her frustration was bubbling to the surface now. “I’ve tried so much for the past couple of days but I can’t remember your name. I only remember bits and pieces that don’t seem to make sense at all to me.”

“It seems to me that you have all the pieces you need. You just need to join them up now.”

"That’s why I came here in the first place,” she responded. “I came here to get answers from you, but all you’re doing is avoiding my questions!”

"That is because you are not asking the right ones. Think harder.” He remained patient, calm, his tone of voice measured and neutral as he guided her, which made Chihiro relent and try thinking harder about the kinds of questions she should ask him instead.

Chihiro thought back to the things that she had remembered thus far, wondering which was the most significant to her.

The answer came quite easily.

“There was a... a creature...” she started. “It saved me from drowning when I was a kid. I remember it carrying me back to shore... But I didn’t even think creatures like that existed...”

“What was it?”

“A dragon. A dragon saved me.” Immediately she wished she could take that back. She must have sounded quite mad.

Her bewilderment must have appeared rather foolish, for it made the man in front of her break into a wider smile. “You are on the right track now.” His words helped to relieve the embarrassment that she felt then, and also hinted that she wasn’t as crazy as she thought. In fact, she was probably about to realize even crazier things.

Looking at him again, a strange thought occurred to her. A strange, yet plausible thought.

“You know... I’m getting something.”

"Getting what?”

“The vibes that you give off.” Her words seemed to strike the man as unfamiliar. He cocked his head to the side slightly, looking rather puzzled. “Vibes?”

"You remind me of that dragon,” she corrected. Chihiro took the rapid increase of her heart beat as a hint that she was getting warmer. His eyes widened by a fraction, which made her doubt that silly, absurd hypothesis that she had just made for a brief moment.

“Go on. Trust yourself,” he said then, encouraging her with a smile.

That could only mean that she was getting closer to the truth.

...But then she got stuck.

Chihiro deflated, releasing a long sigh. “Okay, I’m out of ideas. Any hints? Why can’t you just tell me your name?”

“I believe I already told you. I want you to remember it on your own.”

"This is such a sick game you’re playing.”

“This is no game, Chihiro.” His voice became stern all of a sudden. His eyes were hard, his smile gone. “This is important. To me. To us. _Please._ ” His eyes softened once more, and his pleading voice instantly filled the woman with guilt for complaining so much. He seemed to be in just as much agony as her, if not more, just that he was doing a better job of restraining himself so she wouldn’t feel too pressured.

_Think, Chihiro, think._ According to him, she already had everything she needed to find the truth. Her primary clues were that dragon, her near-drowning experience, the boy, and—

_The river._

That was where it had all began.

Chihiro glanced up to meet its eyes again. Saying that name in her head had a very peculiar effect on her. Her heart started hammering against her ribcage, and her breath caught as a chill ran down her spine, causing goose bumps to appear on her arms. Saying that name out loud was going to change something quite radically. She could sense that.

“I have a feeling... I’m not sure if this is correct, but it’s a wild guess from what I’ve found out so far... Hang on for a minute. This is... I think I need some time to pull myself together.” Her voice was quivering, and she was incredibly nervous. Quite subconsciously she reached out, unsure if she had done that to swipe at the air or to find something she could grab onto for some mental support.

The man seemed to sense her anxiety, and he took a tiny step closer to her, holding out his hand to her and causing his palm to meet the very tips of her fingers.

_“There you go, you’re all better.”_

_Her hands were no longer translucent, nor was she disappearing. His palm was firm as she brushed her fingers against his, and his kind eyes softened as he squeezed her shoulder lightly in reassurance. “I’m okay now...”_

_“You see?”_

Chihiro gasped and pulled back, but the man was quick to capture her hand in his big, warm one again, interlacing their fingers together in a firm but tender motion. The action quite naturally made her close the distance between them, till their toes were nearly touching and she could feel his warm breath on her face.

“You...” The words were at the tip of her tongue, but she could not make a sound. All she could do was stare at him, lost in his enchanting green eyes that suddenly seemed as tender and loving as she remembered that boy to have when he helped her. Moisture began to build up in the back of her eyes as she felt a torrent of emotions pulling at her heartstrings.

“You were saying?”

“I-I... I don’t know...”

“You do. I know you do. You seem to already have the answer.”

Maybe she did. Maybe she was just scared of saying it out, even though she knew that there was nothing to be afraid of, as long as he was here.

“I think... I think your name is...”

_She was riding on the back of that dragon, clutching tightly to his horns as he soared through the air at exhilarating speed. The night breeze combed through her hair and his soft fur. And at that moment, she remembered something. It was unclear, a mere fragment of a memory, one that she had dismissed as a dream long ago, but one that just might free her beloved companion._

_“I think your name is...”_

“...the Kohaku River.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Chihiro found herself being pulled into a bone-crushing hug, a hug that stole the air from her lungs, but one that also seemed to breathe new life into her.

Saying his name seemed to be some kind of key that that ended up magically unlocking the rest of the memories that had been sealed away deep inside of her. Suddenly she remembered everything: his kindness and bravery when he came to her aid in secret while risking his life to do so, the time they spent at the bathhouse together, riding on his back in the night, remembering his name and sharing a promise with him.

“It’s... It’s really you,” she whimpered, as tears began streaming down her face that was buried against his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing him back as tightly as she could, relishing in the feel of his strong arms around her, the warmth of his body against hers and inhaling his sweet, calming scent. “Haku, it’s really you!”

“Yes, yes it is,” he replied in his deep voice right by her ear, causing a shiver to run down her spine. He pressed her closer against him, murmuring, “Thank you, Chihiro. Thank you for trusting me, and for remembering me.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head, “I never should have forgotten. How could I have forgotten?”

“You couldn’t help it. Your memories were sealed.”

“But—”

“Chihiro.” He pulled away then, and she complied reluctantly, hastily wiping the tears on her face. She probably looked like a mess. Haku merely chuckled, gently removing her hands and cupping her cheeks in his and wiping away her remaining stray tears with his thumbs. “Stop talking.”

He leaned in, drawing closer so that their noses were barely touching. “If you do not want this, then feel free to slap me.”

With that said, he sealed the gap between their lips. Chihiro’s mind went blank, losing all inhibitions in that moment, and she clutched onto his clothes tightly, leaning in to respond to his kiss. Her face was so hot, she was certain she resembled a tomato now. Her heart rate spiked, the kiss sending jolts of electricity down her spine to the tips of her fingers and toes. It was nothing too amorous, with both scared to overstep their boundaries, both still unsure as to how to approach the other. However, this kiss was rekindling her feelings for him that she had felt a long time ago, when she had fallen in love with a dragon boy.

He was the one who had stolen her heart that many years back.

Chihiro was left breathless when they pulled away, only for Haku to rest his forehead against hers. His lips spread into a wide grin, as he nuzzled his nose affectionately against hers.

“I finally got to see you again,” he murmured. “I’m never going to let you go now.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she reassured him. “Besides, we have a _lot_ of catching up to do.”

“Indeed, we do,” he replied with a laugh. He sobered up quite quickly then, and said, “If you do not mind, I would like to do this again properly.” Chihiro arched an eyebrow in confusion, until she noticed him reaching over to pluck out the rose that she had forgotten all about.

She had to do a double-take when she realized that the rose was in full bloom again, its red color even more vibrant and striking than before.

“W-What? How did it..?”

“This is not a normal rose,” he explained, offering her a rather bemused look, which she returned with a small eye roll.

“I kind of figured. Normal roses don’t resurrect themselves.” Haku emitted a small breath of laughter at that.

“Well, what is it then?” she asked.

"It is a gift for you. I remember roses are your favorite.” He held it up and placed it in her palm, guiding her fingers to wrap around the stem. “This is a special rose that I hope you will keep with you always.”

“Um, Haku.”

“Yes?”

“Just to let you know, I’m terrible at gardening. This will die in two or three days.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. This rose will not die,” he grinned. “As long as you remember me, and as long as our bond never falters. I love you, Chihiro. I’ve... been meaning to tell you this for a long time. I love you. I always have.”

Chihiro managed a smile as she pulled away from him slightly to put some space in between them. “H-Haku, don’t get me wrong, I’m really happy right now but...” She was ecstatic that they were here like this together again, and that the man she just realized that she had feelings for had just expressed his love for her. But, she was also admittedly conflicted about the way things were escalating so quickly.

“I know this is a lot to take in, especially after you’ve just gotten your memories back. Don’t worry, and don’t put too much pressure on yourself,” he said kindly, reassuring her by taking her hand in his and squeezing it lightly. “Take your time to think about my feelings, and yours.”

She nodded, offering him a smile. All she needed was a little time for her to gather her thoughts and wits about her before jumping headlong into this. “Thanks, Haku. I’ll think about it seriously, and I won’t take too long.”

He smiled satisfied with her answer. Then he glanced upwards, and Chihiro followed suit. “It’s getting dark already,” he stated, as his eyes swept across the now marigold sky.

“Yeah...”

“I would love to spend more time with you here, but I’m afraid you should go home now.”

"So soon?” Disappointment welled up in her. She had just met him again, and already she had to leave.

“Come, Chihiro. You must go, or you won’t make it back in time.” He took her hand in his, and at remarkable speed, they practically flew through the street, down the stairs. The world around them transformed into a blur of colors, and Chihiro could only focus her eyes on him, noting with adoration how the wind teased his hair with such grace as he maneuvered his way back towards the pavement, stopping just before the boundary.

“You know the way back, don’t you?”

She hesitated. What if she forgot again? What if she never made it back? What if—

“You won’t forget,” he reassured, squeezing her hand. “You remember now.”

“Can’t you come with me?” she asked, though it sounded more like a plea.

“I’m afraid I can’t. Not today, Chihiro,” he said, with a sad glint in his eyes. “But I promise we’ll meet again.”

“Promise?”

“Of course.” And then he leaned in again, stopping so his mouth hovered right next to her ear. “A word before you go.” His breath was ticklish against her ear, and their closeness made her shiver slightly in anticipation.

“Meet me at the bridge once you’re ready to,” he whispered tenderly, and she felt her lip curl upwards.

“I’ll be there waiting.”

 

**-End-**

 

 

**A/N:** My heart right now is just overflowing with feels, and I can’t tell if it’s sad or happy feels hnnnngggg. I think I need a hug.

This took me so long to write so thanks for waiting for me. I had to rewrite the ending like 4 or 5 times ugh it was so hard to get it right! (Even now I’m still thinking about whether this is the best ending I can come up with hmm.)

I hope you enjoyed this two-shot. Do drop a review if you’re free to let me know how it was (: I love hearing from you guys. Thanks for reading once again and yay one more Spirited Away story down. :D 

 


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